1950-51 Theatre Catalog, 9th Edition, Page 14 (xiv)

1950-51 Theatre Catalog, 9th Edition, Page 14

is made to look "theatreit-that is to
say, if it is given a real theatre appearance and atmospheree-it will attract
people who are in a mood for pleasant
relaxation and entertainment.

In the first place, the theatre front
should sparkle with brilliantilighting and
theatrical elegance. The small theatre,
of course, cannot spend as much money
on decoration as the large theatre, but
it does not have to in order to achieve
adequate results. If it is in a small
community, it can still flash more titheatre" than any other building in the
town. If located in a large city, it should
pass up the gilt, marble, and other
gingerbread, and concentrate on a decorative scheme which is restrained and
yet in good taste.

The marquee should be made to do a
selling job. It should be brightly illuminated and designed in good taste, so that
it will attract attention to the theatre.
The marquee letters should be large
enough so that they can be seen at a
great distance, and the feature attractions should be described so that they
can be easily understood and not garbled
with abbreviations in the manner of a
classified ad. It helps a great deal if the
marquee is decorated with pictures#
either of a scene from the feature, or of
one or more of the stars.

Displays must really perform their
function of displaying. Frames should be
kept clean and attractive, and publicity
stills arranged so that they can readily
be Viewed from the street.

HFriendliness and real#not studied
*courtesy should radiate from everyone connected with the theatre . .
Good public relations in the form
of friendliness should begin at the
cashieris window?

It would seem advisable to give the
most prominent display space to the
current features, for there is nothing
more exasperating than to be attracted
by a theatre display and then find a
small card stating that the picture is
scheduled for one or two Weeks .hence.

Coming attractions need a build-up,
but they should be subordinated to the
pictures which are actually playing and
bring people into the theatre.

Ticket booths ought to be a credit to
the theatre, for they are in prominent
view from the street. They should be
located conveniently and possess sufficient
facilities to accommodate crowds, so that
patrons will not have to wait in long
lines for the privilege of turning over
their money.

Advertising

No theatre can hope to be successful
if it depends entirely upon off-the-street
patronage and word-of-mouth advertising. All of the advertising media possible
should be utilized in order to make it
just as easy as possible for people to
know what is playing.

There is considerable disagreement as
to what percentage of the exhibitor

XIV

gross should be expended on advertising.
Producers claim that the exhibitor is
now spending three per cent or less, and
that he should be spending about eight
per cent. No doubt the percentage varies
widely among exhibitors.

Advertising for the theatre, like any
other type of advertising, should pay for
itself. If an exhibitor is now spending
three per cent, he might experiment
with stepping it up to five or six per
cent for a reasonable time and see what
happens. If his boxofiice shows an increase which more than pays for his
additional advertising, it will be good
business to put even more money into
the advertising budget.

You will find that results will be proportioned, however, not by the amount
of money you spend, but by the effectiveness of your advertising. Most of our
theatre advertising is based upon the
producers pressbooks and is, therefore,
so stereotyped that it has lost much of
its appeal. Not all people are attracted
because a picture is tsensational," "daring," or "shocking," or rush to the boxofiice when they see an illustration of a
bosomy female who could never possibly
get by the censors.

You might find that you will get much
better results with a sentence or two
describing the chief points and general
character of the picture, as is done by
the book publishers in advertising their
fiction, and by writing yOUr advertisements in simple, natural, down-to-earth
language without overworked adjectives.

Theatre advertising should contain as
much pertinent information as possible.
Printing your schedule will prove a great
convenience to your patrons, and may
well prove the difference as to whether
they will come to the theatre or stay
at home on a particular night. Most people may be acquainted with the location
of your theatre, but there are some who
are not, and consequently you should
always give your address. If you have
parking facilities-and you should have
if it is at all possiblFtell about them
in your advertising, and describe where
they are located.

Promotion

There is a great deal more to operating a theatre than just going through
the routine motions. If you do no more
than the essentials, you might make a
living, but your house is never going to
be the proverbial gold mine.

There are some exhibitors who are
outstanding for their contributions to
the life of their communities, but it is
an unfortunate fact that most are conspicuous mainly for their disinterest.
The theatre is too often regarded as a
cold commercial enterprise, and might
just as well be situated on another planet
as far as its value to the community.

Now, the theatre often possesses the
largest seating auditorium to be found in
an entire town or neighborhood. The
exhibitor or manager should make it a
point to contact all of the important
organizations in his community and invite them to use the theatre for special
gatherings when the time can be
arranged conveniently. Such an exhibition
of friendliness and community spirit may
occasion some extra effort and even a
little expense, but in the end it is going
to pay rich returns.

There are a great many people who
could and should be patrons of your
theatre, and yet have never been inside
it. You may not believe it, but there are
some people who are timid about going
to theatres. There are others who simply
have formed the habit of going to some

other house.
Once you can get men and women to

step inside your theatre, even if it is
for some other purpose, you will have an
opportunity to show them what comfortable surroundings you have to offer
and what a friendly person you are;
before long you will have them coming
frequently to an entertainment center
Where they believe they can feel at home.

Children may be small, but donlt overlook them, because they will play a great
part in your success. Encourage them to
come to your theatre, rather than regard
them as necessary evils. Children are
great word-of-mouth advertisers. If a
kid likes a picture, he will talk the
ear off of everyone he meets telling them
about it. If you are cross or severe with
him, he will blacklist you not only with
his family, but all over the neighborhood.

Public Relations

Theatre operation requires constant
contact with the public. Anyone who
doesnt like people should get out of
theatre business.

Dealing with the public brings us to
the third part of our problemethat of
building up a steady and lucrative
patronage by increasing comfort and
entertainment. The business of making a
steady patron out of the person who
comes into your theatre begins the moment he walks up to the ticket window.

Friendliness and real#not studied*
courtesy should radiate from every one
connected with the theatre. It should
begin with the exhibitor or the manager.
His place is in the lobby during the
hours when attendance is heavy. If you
fail to do so, you are neglecting a very
important part of your duties.

Study the face of every person who
comes in or goes out of your theatre.
If you know him, never fail to extend
him a greeting and a few words of conversation when time permits. If his face
is familiar because he has been in your
theatre several times before, it is your
place to step forth and be the one to

'speak first. He will feel flattered that

you are able to recognize him among
so many people, and he will continue to
come to a theatre where he feels that
he is a friend of the boss.

It is your employees, however, who
can really make or break you, Remember
that you are held responsible for every
action of every employee who comes
into contact with the public. If a patron
receives an impertinent remark or a
discourteous action from the cashier,
doorman, or usher, he is going to blame
it on your theatre, and you are the
one who is going to suffer.

Good public relations in the form of
friendliness should begin at the cashierls
window. She should be pleasant at all
times, and not become exasperated with
every person who is slow in action or
understanding. If you have a neurotic
who gets rattled and insolent under the
pressure of crowds, get rid of her before
she drives away too many of your